This invention relates to a water toy, and in particular to a water toy which creates an umbrella-like spray of water.
Toys that generate a spray of water for play purposes are common in the prior art as a way for the user to cool off on a hot day. Typical of these devices are Janszen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,679 and Stanley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,785. All of these devices are deficient in two respects. First, in the prior art devices the spray is located at a single fixed distance above the ground. If the device is arranged to strike the body of a small child it would strike an adult on the legs. Conversely, if it were arranged to strike the body of an adult it would pass over the head of a child. Second, the shape of the spray pattern is fixed in the prior art devices which limits their play value.
The subject invention overcomes these shortcomings of the prior art devices by placing a closed-end hollow pipe that is fluidly connected to a source of pressurized water in an upright position. Mounted at one or more selected positions on the pipe is a cylindrical deflector that is rotatable about a vertical axis. In a preferred embodiment the deflector has the shape of a right circular cylinder, and has a peripheral cover with a napped texture similar to that of a paint roller.
Fluidly connected to the pipe below each deflector, is a supply tube having a nozzle located at its end which is oriented to direct a stream of water upwardly against the periphery of the deflector at an acute angle with respect to the deflector axis of rotation. In addition the stream of water is directed along a vertical plane which is offset from the axis of rotation. Thus, the stream of water causes the deflector to rotate which throws the water horizontally off of the deflector into an umbrella-shaped spray. A shut-off valve may be placed in the supply tube to permit the flow of water to the nozzle to be discontinued.
The spray nozzle can either be concentrated or fan-shaped. With the former the umbrella spray is thin and has a relatively large diameter, and with the latter the umbrella spray is fat and has a relatively small diameter.
If multiple deflectors are mounted on the pipe they can be positioned so that umbrellas can be located so that the spray is appropriate for different-sized users. In a preferred embodiment, the pipe is constructed from a plurality of short pieces of pipe joined together end to end by threaded collars, with each deflector being sandwiched between an adjacent pair of collars. This permits the position of the deflectors on the pipe to be varied, as well as allowing replacement of the deflectors if they become damaged.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the subject invention to provide a water toy which creates an umbrella spray of water.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide such a toy in which the umbrella spray can be made relatively thicker and thinner as desired.
It is a still further object of the subject invention to provide such a toy in which the umbrella spray can be provided at different positions above the ground.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide such a toy in which there are multiple umbrella sprays.
The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.